Closing the loop: The quest for gender parity in African tech
This report examines gender parity in Africa’s technology sector. While Africa leads in women’s STEM representation globally, significant drop-offs occur at key career stages. The research identifies barriers such as biases and funding gaps, offering actionable strategies to enhance recruitment, support career progression, and increase access to start-up financing.
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OVERVIEW
One Step Ahead: Africa Performing Well Relative To Other Regions In Women In Tech And Entrepreneurship
Sub-Saharan Africa has improved its score on the Global Gender Gap Index by 5.6 percentage points since 2006, with 68.4 percent of the gender gap closed in 2025 (2). Yet, parity is an estimated 107 years away (2). In sub-Saharan Africa, as much as 30 percent of roles in STEM sectors are held by women, compared to 28.2 percent of global STEM careers (2). Additionally, 47 percent of all STEM graduates from African universities being women, surpassing Europe (42 percent), Asia (41 percent), South America (41 percent), North America (39 percent), and Oceania (38 percent) (2).
Despite educational successes, women remain underrepresented at the top. Less than 20 percent of publicly listed companies in Africa with C-suite tech roles had a woman in that role, and just 3 percent of companies with revenues that exceeded $1 billion had women in top tech leadership roles (6). While approximately 26 percent of businesses in Africa are founded by women, only about 20 percent of tech start-ups in Africa have at least one woman cofounder, and about 10 percent have a woman CEO (6).
Plugging The Leaks: Three Key Stages Eroding Women’s Representation In Tech
Women account for approximately 48 percent of secondary school enrolments and 47 percent of STEM graduates, but participation drops to between 23 to 30 percent in tech roles (8). This continues into leadership, with less than 12 percent of tech leadership positions and just 10 percent of CEO roles in tech start-ups in Africa held by women (8).
Although nearly 90 percent of the women we surveyed across Africa reported they are happy or very satisfied with their careers (9), barriers to progression exist. Only 52 women being promoted to manager for every 100 men promoted (10). Twelve percent of respondents reported leaving the workforce prematurely due to career development (21 percent), work environment (19 percent), and work–life balance (16 percent) (10).
In 2024, women-led ventures received only 1.0 percent ($21 million) of total funding for tech start-ups in Africa, about 100 times less than what start-ups founded by men received (94.0 percent, or $2.1 billion) (11).
Levelling Up: Three Levers To Drive Greater Inclusion Of Women In Tech
To plug the skills leak, companies can partner with universities and high schools to align curriculums, offer targeted scholarships, dedicated internships, and apprenticeships. Using data-driven insights to refine recruitment is advised.
To support advancement, workplaces should implement structured return-to-work programmes and childcare assistance. Furthermore, organisations should assign senior leaders as sponsors and train managers in bias awareness, alongside conducting an annual gender pay equity audit.
To increase financial access, governments, investors, and the private sector could step up to create more dedicated grant programmes for women entrepreneurs and provide mentorship to improve pitching.
